Taking Care of Yuri
by Chibii94
Summary: Yuri gets sick and cant talk. Otabek goes into full mother-mode taking care of him. Be prepared to say "poor baby" more times than you can count.


Otabek opened his eyes and stretched. Another morning after a late night DJing at a nightclub. He rolled over to find Yuri still in bed next to him, facing away from him, still asleep. Yuri was normally awake first for skating practice. Maybe his coach was having a later practice today, or had called it off altogether.

"Good morning, Yuri," Otabek smiled and leaned over to his lover, but his smile quickly faded. Yuri's waist-length blond hair was more disheveled than usual, and his cheeks had an abnormal flush. He wasn't really asleep either. His eyes were open, but glazed and staring blankly at the wall.

Yuri turned toward Otabek without really looking at him and mustered a weak "mmm" in response. Otabek put his hand on Yuri's forehead. It was burning hot.

"Yuri, are you not feeling well?"

"Yes" he said, and quickly winced. His voice sounded rough, as if he had to force out every sound.

Otabek went to the bathroom to grab the thermometer, and by the time he got back, Yuri had managed to get into a sitting position, slouched forward, staring off into space. Otabek propped him up with a pillow as he waited for the thermometer to read.

"Thirty-nine degrees" Otabek said, reading the thermometer, "There is no way I'm letting you leave the house today."

"Okay" Yuri said, wincing slightly

That was really worrisome. When he was sick, Yuri normally put up such a fight that Otabek practically had to sedate him to make him rest. Their first winter together, three years ago, Yuri had gone to practice with the flu because he couldn't bear to miss a single day. Several other skaters ended up sick because of him, the stupid kid. He must really not feel well to be this weak.

"I'll call your coach and tell him you can't come to practice. I don't think you should talk any more than you have to, it sounds like your throat hurts. Would you like some hot tea?"

Yuri nodded weakly.

Otabek went into the kitchen and called Yuri's coach to inform him that Yuri was too sick to come to practice. The coach insisted upon sending a doctor over, the one who took care of all the professional skaters in the area. She would be there later in the day, and would make sure Yuri was back on his skates as soon as possible.

The next call Otabek made was to his boss, the manager of the nightclub. He said he couldn't make it to work because he had to care for a sick child.

"Wait, since when do you have a kid?" the manager asked, suspicious.

"Have you met Yuri?"

"Ah, understood. I hope he feels better soon. See you tomorrow" the manager hung up.

By the time he was finished his phone calls, the tea was ready. The strong, spicy, herbal smell coming from the cup was nice, comforting, and would hopefully soothe Yuri's throat. He walked into the bedroom to find Yuri exactly has he had been, leaning against the pillow, dull-eyed, hair tangled around his shoulders.

"Yuri, turn your back to me" Otabek said gently.

Yuri obliged, turning so his disheveled mop of hair faced Otabek, cascading over the black tank top he wore as pajamas.

"Here, drink this" he said, passing the mug of tea over Yuri's shoulder. Yuri gave a small "mmm" in thanks and took the steaming mug from Otabek's hand. Otabek grabbed Yuri's comb from the dresser and went to work untangling the rat's nest that his lovely hair had become. He gently worked through the knots until Yuri's hair was back to it's former silky beauty. Then he braided it, lifting it off Yuri's feverish neck and keeping it from tangling again. As he did this, Yuri stared blankly ahead, sipping the tea until it was gone.

Otabek took the empty mug and laid Yuri down on the bed. Yuri's glazed eyes showed gratitude, but his throat was too sore to properly speak it.

"Your coach is sending a doctor over, so try and rest until then" Otabek said softly.

Yuri scowled. Otabek knew that look. That was the Yuri he knew. Ill as he was, his pride was still intact. He hated being seen in this weak state by anyone but Otabek, and even that had taken time.

"Hey, your coach just wants you back on the ice as soon as possible. I'm not going to try and stop him. You just get some rest."

Otabek moved to stand, but Yuri feebly pawed for his hand.

"You want me to stay with you until you're asleep?"

Yuri nodded. He looked so pitiful laying there. He was slightly taller than Otabek, but his frame was still slender, and he looked particularly small right now. How could he say no to that face?

"Okay, I'll sit with you," he sat back down on the bed and took Yuri's limp hand in both of his, "Would you like to hear a fairy tale from Kazakhstan while you go to sleep?"

Yuri gave a semblance of a smile and nodded.

"All right, this one is called 'Maqta Girl and a Cat...'"

Yuri quickly drifted off, and Otabek slipped out of the room, leaving him to sleep in peace.

Several hours later, the silence was broken by a knock at the door. Otabek, startled out of the novel he had been reading, answered the door. There stood the doctor, a petite woman in blue scrubs. They had met before when Yuri was sick, though normally it was with Otabek practically holding him down. She looked behind him into the silent house, obviously expecting a pouting Yuri to be lurking behind Otabek.

"Good afternoon, Otabek. Wow, Yuri really must be sick if he's this quiet."

"He is, he's been in bed all day."

"Poor thing, let's find out what's wrong with him," her concern was genuine.

They walked into the bedroom and Otabek gently stroked Yuri's shoulder to wake him.

"Yuri, the doctor is here."

Yuri scowled foggily as Otabek helped him sit up. The doctor looked at him appraisingly. A touch of pity crossed her expression.

"All right, Yuri, you know the drill, let me do my job."

Yuri's expression was one of protest, but he nodded. He put up little resistance as the doctor took his temperature and blood pressure, listened to his heart and lungs, looked into his eyes, and peered down his throat. After seeing his throat, the doctor gently probed the lymph nodes just under his jaw, and he tensed up.

"Are these tender? They're very swollen"

"Uh-huh" Yuri croaked, wincing.

"And it hurts to talk?"

Yuri nodded.

She made one more note on her chart, then turned to Otabek to deliver her diagnosis. Normally, Yuri would demand that she speak directly to him, because Otabek was not his parent, he could take care of himself, rant, rant rant. Now, though, Yuri had zoned out and was staring off into space.

"He has tonsillitis." The doctor said matter-of-factly, "Pretty nasty case, too. It's viral, so he should be fine once it runs its course in a few days. Let me know if he takes a bad turn, but I don't anticipate any complications as of now. It's a common ailment, and he's young and otherwise healthy."

"What should I do in the meantime?"

"Make sure he stays hydrated, warm liquids will be best to soothe his throat, and see that he gets rest and stays away from other people. I don't want any other skaters going down with this like that flu bug from a few years ago. I think he took out half the skaters in Moscow that time."

Otabek chuckled, startling Yuri back to planet earth.

"Huh? What?" he rasped.

"No talking, you'll only injure your voice if you try to talk in your condition." The doctor chastised.

Yuri scowled, but stayed silent.

"Thank you for coming out t," said Otabek, "I know it's not the most convenient arrangement."

"It's not as bad as you'd think" the doctor said, packing her instruments away, "I get paid well and aside from the occasional difficult patient" she glared affectionately at Yuri "I really like my job."

"Well, thanks anyway" he said, escorting her to the door.

After the doctor left, Otabek went back into the bedroom and tucked Yuri into bed once more. He was almost asleep already, he looked so tired. When he did fall asleep, Otabek tiptoed into the kitchen to make something nice for his poor lover.

Yuri awoke to a familiar smell that made his mouth water. Otabek heard him moving around and came into the bedroom.

"You're awake," he said warmly "Are you hungry?"

Yuri nodded, his eyes clearing somewhat for a moment.

"I'm sure you guessed by the smell, but I made some Borscht. My old family recipe. Remember the first time I made it? You were surprised that I knew how to make something so Russian. You forgot that Kazakhstan shares a large part of its border with Russia."

Yuri smiled weakly as Otabek turned back to the kitchen. He returned with two steaming bowls of soup, handing one to Yuri and sitting on the bed across from him with the other. Yuri's dull eyes teared up as he inhaled the nostalgic smell, looking at Otabek and trying to communicate his thanks without speaking. He was trying to say "You don't have to take care of me like this, I'll be fine."

"Of course I want to take care of you. I love you, Yura" Otabek said affectionately, "Now express your gratitude by eating up and getting better. I want to see you back to your arrogant, dramatic self."

Yuri glared, but started to eat. He winced at the first few swallows, but the hot liquid soon began to ease the pain and he relished the delicious soup. After he was finished, Otabek took the dishes to the kitchen and came back into the bedroom.

"Yuri, would you like to take a bath? The steam might help your throat and give you a good night's sleep."

Yuri nodded. Otabek went into the bathroom and ran a bath, hot, but not too hot. He didn't want to make Yuri's fever worse. Otabek went back into the bedroom and gently pulled the covers off of Yuri. He shivered as the cooler air touched his skin. His face was still flushed with the fever, it must be giving him chills. As Otabek wrapped his arms around Yuri to help him up, he could feel the heat coming off his slender body despite the shaking. Otabek helped his trembling lover to his feet and led him to the bathroom. Yur was able to undress himself with Otabek holding his hand for balance. Otabek eased him into the warm tub. Yuri relaxed into the water, his shivers subsiding. The humid air had a pleasant smell, soap and expensive hair products. Otabek sat with him, making sure his face stayed above the water. After a few minutes, Otabek added a few drops of peppermint oil to the bath, giving the air a sweet, soothing smell. Yuri breathed deeply for several minutes, the sweet-smelling steam opening his painfully swollen throat.

Yuri picked up the soap and started to wash the sweat from his flushed skin. After reaching his arms, chest, and legs, Otabek wordlessly took the loofah and washed his back, making sure not to mess up his hair which was still in the braid he had made earlier.

Yuri turned and reached for Otabek

"You want to get out?"

He nodded.

Otabek helped him out of the tub, his shivers returning in force. He dried Yuri off and put on his bathrobe, a gaudy silk leopard print thing. He led him back into the bedroom, sitting him on the bed. He pulled out a fresh set of pajamas, another black tank top and silk shorts with paw prints, and handed them to Yuri. Yuri took Otabek's hand to steady himself against the shivering as he dressed. Otabek tucked him into bed and gently kissed his forehead.

"Love you" Yuri managed to croak.

"The doctor said no talking," Otabek said, trying to be firm, but smiling nonetheless. "I love you too, my little kitten."

Yuri fell asleep quickly and Otabek went to get ready for bed himself. When he returned to the bed, Yuri's sleep looked troubled. He squirmed, and looked like he was trying to speak. The fever must have brought on nightmares. Otabek crawled into the bed and gently laid his arm over Yuri's shoulders, pulling him close. He gave a quick jolt, but slowly, the twitching subsided and he was peaceful again. Otabek fell asleep with his arm laid protectively over his lover.

When Otabek awoke the next morning, Yuri was already awake and sitting up in bed. His cheeks were still flushed, but his eyes looked brighter and more aware. Otabek sat up next to him.

"Good morning. Are you feeling better?"

"Much," he said, his voice still hoarse, but he didn't wince in pain when he spoke, "I should be able to make it to practice today."

"Oh no you don't" Otabek said, "The doctor specifically said you had to rest and stay away from other people. I'm not letting you leave the house."

"Aw, come on, I'm fine, and I missed a whole day yesterday." he rasped.

"You say you're fine, but your cheeks and voice say otherwise. You may not be as bad as yesterday, but that doesn't mean you can skate."

Yuri pouted, and Otabek couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Yuri was back, and as stubborn as ever. He was going to be okay.


End file.
